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I cannot bite properly, would I benifit from a SOMA, ALF or other device to improve my bite?

Question: I wear a NTI appliance at night for grinding but I still find myself biting down at night very hard. I believe my bite and jaw are misaligned. I had typical orthodontic work as a child-headgear, braces twice, retainers, and a device that I wore on the roof of my mouth. A key was inserted to tighten the device but I do not know the name of this device. I grew up on the typical processed American diet. I have had 4 cavities filled with composite material (my back molars in my twenties). Wisdom teeth removed with scar tissue on the lower left that at times bothers me with jaw pain. No dentist has ever found anything there. That area did become infected after the wisdom teeth were removed. I am a mouth breather. My jaw pops and I have headaches, etc. Many times, I feel as if I can't get my jaw in a comfortable position. I try to make a conscious effort to breathe through my nose (I have a deviated septum) but it doesn't feel completely normal and at night I am a mouth breather for sure. My teeth are straight but I have an overbite and can move my lower jaw forward where it is easier to open my mouth. I have some cracks in some teeth from biting down at night. What do you recommend for me? Could I benefit from the light wire or soma appliance if I have straight teeth? What can I do in the meantime to improve my condition? How do I stop the involuntary biting down and tension? I have been following the nutrient dense diet since July.

Answer: You definitely need help with your bite. It can be a bit expensive, like $300 per month for the appliance and adjustments, plus another $200 or more per month for the complimentary treatments you will need. Expect a treatment time of 2-4 years.

There are two methods of dealing with this situation. The slow one is with an appliance called a Twin Block. (Note there may be other appliances that can get the same results.) It develops height in your teeth naturally so your jaw will swing forward and your teeth will touch correctly. The second method to developing height is a dentist will bond material on top of the tooth to make each tooth taller. It's your call how you want to treat this. A nutrient dense diet will support your bite correction, but it won't fix your bite by itself since you are adult. Children may gain a moderate to signficant improvement in their bite over a long period of time with an excellent fat-soluble rich diet. I have an entire chapter that describes bite correction in greater detailed in the second edition of Cure Tooth Decay.

Please review the orthodontics page,

and you can find a bite expert on the recommended dentist page.

Other people have learned the secrets to stopping cavities with the published book Cure Tooth Decay